An 86-year-old man and 97-year-old woman were killed Thursday after their car collided with a commercial vehicle on Route 2/4 in Solomons.

At approximately 2:32 p.m., members of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office and Crash Reconstruction Team responded to the intersection of Route 2/4 and Patuxent Point Parkway in Solomons for a report of a motor vehicle collision involving a passenger vehicle and commercial motor vehicle, according to a sheriff’s office press release. Upon arrival on the scene, the responding units located a 2005 Toyota Camry in the southbound grass shoulder of Route 2/4. Located partially in the southbound grass shoulder and partially on the paved portion of the highway was a 1995 International three-axle truck, equipped with a tank to carry petroleum product, according to the press release.

The passenger of the Camry, Eugenie Sawyer, 97, of Solomons, was pronounced dead on the scene, and the driver, Herbert Sawyer, 86, of Solomons, was taken to Calvert Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the sheriff’s office press release.

At the time of the collision, Maryland State Highway Administration was conducting traffic light maintenance in the northbound lanes of Route 2/4. Herbert Sawyer was traveling northbound Route 2/4, and intended to turn left onto Patuxent Point Parkway, the release states. Though the left turn arrow remained a steady red, according to the release, Herbert Sawyer made a left turn onto Patuxent Point Parkway without yielding to southbound traffic. As the Camry entered the intersection, the truck, operated by Kelly Ronnell Silver, 41, of College Park, was traveling southbound.

Silver attempted to avoid striking the Camry by applying the brakes and steering to the right, but was not able to avoid the collision and subsequently struck the Camry on the right side of the vehicle, the release states. The Camry was destroyed as a result of the collision, and the truck sustained significant damage to the front end and drivetrain, according to the release. Silver refused medical treatment on the scene.

Capt. Steve Jones of the sheriff’s office said emergency personnel cut into the roof of the Camry to extract the couple, a procedure that is usually done to best extract the individuals, he said Friday morning.

“The vehicle was in poor shape,” said Jones, who was on the scene of the accident.

Both victims were transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore, where autopsies will be performed, the release states.

Although the cause of the accident is still under investigation, the sheriff’s office believes driver error was a contributing factor to this collision, according to the release.

Route 2/4 south of Dowell Road remained closed for about two hours Thursday following the accident. The sheriff’s office released a Nixle alert stating both northbound lanes and one southbound lane were open at about 4:51 p.m.

Cpl. G. Shrawder of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Team is conducting an investigation into the events leading up to the collision. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Shrawder at 410-535-2800 or shrawdgm@co.cal.md.us.